CAIRO- Saudi foreign ministry summoned on Wednesday Lebanon's ambassador and handed him a letter of protest regarding comments made by Lebanese information minister George Kordahi about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates' involvement in the Yemen war.

In comments to an online show affiliated with Qatar's Al Jazeera network before becoming information minister, Kordahi said Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis were defending themselves and called the war "futile".

He denied earlier in the day that his stance was hostile and said the remarks were made in a personal capacity before he joined Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government.

(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah Writing by Lilian Wagdy Editing by Mark Potter)